I just got back from my 1st Aid training renewal course. I passed the test (the preschool kids all continue to be safe in my care!) Plus I got paid time for the training. My husband and three of the girls stayed home sick today, but all are on the mend - just wiped out.

Since those who are sick are not feeling like eating much, I've been pulling out the frozen leftovers from the freezer. Today I brought some yellow split pea soup to work for lunch. My healthy daughter and I will have it for dinner too. The last few days we've had beef and gravy served over baked potatoes and another minestrone I tried previously (not as good as my current recipe, but tasted great as I didn't have to do anything more than heat it up!) As others here have mentioned, it's great to be using up the frozen food supply.
Nothing going to waste is nice.

The three younger girls and I are now off for Spring break through next week. My oldest in high school has a couple more days of school and then is off. My husband is taking off a couple days next week, so we can do some family activities. Otherwise, we'll be relaxing, playing, having friends over, going to dr and dentist appts (oh, yay!) and my personal favorite (ha!) - cleaning up around here (clutter and dirt are not our friends - it just looks like it lately!) So little paycheck, but time to get some projects done, or not. Time shall tell.

Tomorrow I have all four girls' school conferences, as well as my mom's care conference (she's in a nursing home with Alzheimer's Disease, and I'm her POA and manage her health care.)

Busy, busy. No time to be bored, that's for sure. Take care!

Wow, did we get socked with a snowstorm. But, hey, it's March in MN.

I called in to say I couldn't come in to work because my two youngest were sick. I knew many from outer lying areas weren't coming in, but with combining classes, it sounded ok. Then my husband came home sick. I called in to my school to see how they were set - they wanted me in! I ended up staying the whole day. So extra hours for my check! Tomorrow I have a first aid renewal class to take (no preschool classes in session.) I came home to find out that my husband had to get daughter #2 from school due to a sore throat. There are more sick than healthy at our house - I'm disinfecting everything!

Yesterday there was no snow left on the ground, today there is heavy, deep snow everywhere! Snow is so hard to take in March...at least it doesn't last too long this time of year. Take care!

Ran around yesterday doing the normal Saturday errands. I got gas for the van. Went to the bread store and grocery store, and shopped for two weeks. Did really well, though that's because we ate out a couple times last week and still had the makings of meals that will be made during these two next weeks. Will do some baking today for the lunches and snacks for the week.

I woke up early this morning - just couldn't sleep in - and worked on getting my annual credit report (I got the email reminder last week.) I looked the info over, and read up in the forums what everyone had to say. I decided since last year I got all three sent out at once for both my husband and I (last time we'd seen it was when we got our mortgage over 9 years ago) that we'll do one every four months. I picked Equifax, mostly because it was at the top of the list. I really debated whether to pay extra to get the FICO score. I'm curious, but still cheap. Since we're not planning any purchases, and everything looks very good, it didn't seem necessary. I'll try one of those free FICO score calculators.

Otherwise, the girls did great in their play performances on Friday and Saturday nights. Today we are going to head into Minneapolis to the Marshall-Fields Spring Flower Display. It's free, except for parking, but very beautiful. We've had some warm temps and even a glimmer of sun here and there. But we have to get Spring in March in Minnesota where we can get it (usually indoors!)

Enjoy your day! Take Care!

...like I have it or something! I did work extra today. And my husband's check had OT on it today. But it still doesn't quite make up for my wayward spending.

I just got back from getting the tickets for the production my three younger daughters are in. My oldest daughter will need a change in her meds - never a cheap proposition. Still waiting for call from the dr. With the girls at play practice this week, my husband and I ate takeout a couple of times - nice, but I really do know better than that!

Alright, the plan is as follows:

Go to the play Friday and Saturday nights and enjoy the show.

Run our regular Saturday morning errands (Plan those meals, buy those groceries - with my list in hand!)

Do some Spring cleaning this weekend (cures me of wanting to spend by tiring me out too much for shopping and by highlighting previous spending that somehow becomes burdensome clutter as I'm cleaning around it.)

Sleep, sleep, sleep - I can't shop while I sleep, and everything seems so much better when I'm well-rested.

Oh,I do have some good news. I'm excited to be writing checks for the last payments to the hospital and Dr. - so that will free up some funds to funnel toward the cc amount.

Have a great Friday! Take care!!

The girls' band concert at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis went great last night. There were 431 kids performing. When they played en masse 5th - 12th grade, they filled the orhestra stage, were in the first set of balconies on either side of the stage and on the floor in front of the first row of seats. We didn't get home until after 10pm (my two youngest are usually in bed by 8:30.) Very tired girls - and parents too!

My three youngest girls auditioned, and got parts in the community ed children's theatre. The audition was on Monday, with the performances will be on Friday and Saturday nights. (It's a traveling theatre group in our state that does these week-long residencies in school districts. My girls have done these for years and absolutely love them. It's a nice way to do theatre, without having a month and a half of rehearsals - though we do those too.) Anyway, they'll need bag lunches for their dinner break this week.

I need to do a little baking this afternoon for the lunches, and the bag dinners too. It's so darn gloomy around here today, it will be nice to have something warm and tasty in the oven. Otherwise, the groceries are holding out well. I should be able to go as planned this weekend.

Gas usage is going to be up, with the trip into Mpls last night, the orthodontist tomorrow, my daughter's medical appt on Thursday, as well as the extra running back and forth to school for the play this week.

Hope your day is great! Take care!!

After our incredibly busy last week, the weekend chose to continue in the same manner!

My third daughter had her 1st Commnunion yesterday. I got her a cross necklace with amethyst-like stones (her birthstone.) She's my quieter and shyer girl and was very nervous, even with the whole family up front with her for communion. She did good, though.

The reason I avoid going to Target is because money gets spent - fast. Along with the necklace, I ended up getting my third girl a swimsuit for gym class - they're having a swim unit. She grew out of everything we had (my youngest is very well set!) She's also outgrew the girls department sizing. I was quickly getting sick at the $50 price tags and the revealing looks, until I found a rack of sport suits in the yoga/sports clothing area. $20!! (after $50, the $20 didn't seem too bad, but am missing the girls dept. prices.) There was a nice variety of covers-everything tank suits - yay!!

My second daughter convinced me to stop at Plato's Closet, a resale shop geared to teens. She is my daughter who especially enjoys fashion and good bargains. I told her we'd do a little look. Glad we did, as we hit a clearance sale. For $16, we brought home 4 jeans, a hat and 5 shirts for three of my daughters. We're done for clothes shopping for a while!

Yesterday we did my husband's receipts to turn in for reimbursement for his out-of-town time, as well as his timesheet.

Today my three younger girls are trying out for a community ed theatre production after school. Then, the family heads to the cities for my middle two daughters' all-school band concert at the Orchestra Hall (our school received a grant to work with our MN Orchestra, including a collaboration in creating a special piece of music.) The schools have been working up to this for over a year, so it's exciting, though busy too. I'll pack some sandwiches and water for the car ride - no time even to stop for fast food (oh darn, I'll have to save the money- ha!) We can collapse when we get home!

Besides doing my regular work, I'll watch a training video today. Then I'll get everything together that we need for our afternoon and evening. Then, it's Ready, Set, GO!! Take care!

It's Friday! Got through this very long week, and am looking forward to the weekend. I just heard from my husband - he finished his training, and is now driving the six hours back to home.

With my husband out of town, the girls and I have been very laid back with our dinners. Last night, we lucked out and went to a community meeting with a potluck. There were pizzas from Domino's, subs from Subway, as well as the best of potluck dishes and incredible desserts. They were looking for a good turnout, including kids. So the girls and I happily obliged! It was very fun to catch up with everyone in our small town.

Worked extra hours today, swapping out books and curriculum items from our preschool room. Straightened up room, and more on the paycheck! I also have some training sessions that are coming up - these are paid hours and also take care of the state requirements for ceu's.

Plans for the weekend:

My third daughter has her 1st Communion on Sunday. She has her retreat for it on Saturday, followed by a dinner with the kids and their families (no cost, hosted by the church. Yay, another meal I'm not cooking!) I want to get her a necklace with a cross, to commemorate the occasion - not too expensive, but nice. I'll do that tomorrow.

We may try to do a family outing (free, except for gas) on Sunday after church - maybe, maybe not. We'll see how we feel about it then... Definitely, doing some downtime - it has been a wildly busy week.

Otherwise, no spending, other than the necklace and the weekly gas fill-up, is planned.

Have a nice weekend! Take care!!